We’re looking for outstanding summer clerks in their penultimate year of study to work on top commercial dispute and public law work for some of New Zealand’s leading businesses over the 2026 – 2027 summer.
Wilson Harle is recognised as a leading New Zealand dispute resolution practice by multiple international directories and has been awarded Litigation and Dispute Resolution Firm of the Year at the NZ Law Awards in successive recent years. Our specialty is commercial litigation, practised across a broad range of commercial contexts, ensuring your work with us is both varied and intellectually challenging.
As a summer clerk, you could be working on defamation cases, public and regulatory law, maritime law, competition law, contract disputes, negligence, insurance law as well as trust and estate disputes.
At Wilson Harle, you’ll be working alongside the partners who have appeared as counsel in the High Court and Court of Appeal, as well as the Supreme Court of New Zealand and the Privy Council.
We’re passionate about our work and about developing New Zealand’s next top litigation lawyers. Our lawyers are exposed to a wide variety of challenging legal work, enabling them to learn quickly. Enjoy one-on-one mentoring and training, and close collaboration in a collegial and inclusive team.
We are looking for people who are underway developing and can demonstrate the following qualities, which we believe are essential for becoming excellent litigators:
- The ambition, drive and work ethic to build a successful career in litigation practice
- Strong intellect, intellectual curiosity and willingness to learn – including about yourself
- The emotional intelligence to read and handle people and situations appropriately
- The ability and desire to build quality, lasting relationships and enthusiasm for working collaboratively
- Integrity and ethical judgement
- Research, analytical and creative problem solving skills
- Active listening skills along with confidence in your own ideas and the ability to communicate them clearly and convincingly
- The courage to pursue a path, adaptability to change and resilience to handle set-backs
- Composure under pressure
Applications open: 9 am 3 March 2026
Applications close: 12 pm 24 March 2026
How to Apply
To apply please email, as one PDF document please:
- a short cover letter ideally not more than one page. Because we want to see what people consider relevant for their letter and how they structure and articulate their thoughts, as well as what personality is revealed, we discourage using AI to draft your letter for us
- your CV
- Year 11-13 NCEA or equivalent results summary
- your university academic transcript
- your secondary school testimonial (if you received one).
In your email attaching the one PDF, please let us know when you expect to completely finish your studies and once you finish your studies including your dissertation (if applicable), when would you be ready to commence permanent fulltime employment.
Applications should be sent to: firm@wilsonharle.com. Wilson Harle does not use AI to review your application. Every application will be reviewed by a partner and our specialist recruitment consultant.
If you experience any issues when emailing your PDF due to the size of the document please email us at the address above and we can assist you with the process.
N.B. Only applications from students currently in their penultimate (2nd to last) year of study will be considered for summer clerk positions. Our summer clerks are immediately immersed in legal work and we believe students require as much time as possible at law school to enable them to manage and enjoy the real work experience in our firm.
Testimonials from our Summer Clerks:
Sam Johnson – 2025 -2026
“I had a great time summer clerking at Wilson Harle. From day one you are given meaningful work that contributes to real files. The wide range of matters means that each day is varied and you get the opportunity to learn about and research different areas of commercial law. While the work can be challenging at times, everyone is highly supportive and approachable if you have any questions. The firm also has a very flexible structure without fixed teams. This means that the clerks and juniors work with all the seniors in the firm on different files. This aspect of Wilson Harle, coupled with all the social events over the summer, made iteasy to integrate into the firm and get to know everyone. My clerkship at the firm was a fantastic experience and a great opportunity to learn about the day-to-day work of commercial litigators.”
George Barker – 2025 – 2026
“I think that Wilson Harle has been the perfect firm for someone like me who was set on going into litigation. Right from my very first day, I was put on large, complex, and incredibly interesting cases. Each was different from the last, and I always felt that the seniors respected my view and trusted me with meaningful tasks. I could not have asked for better work experience.
Inclusion in the work means you learn extremely quickly. I was able work with incredibly skilled lawyers throughout and the quality of work they produced served as a benchmark to learn from. Seniors and juniors alike also took the time to answer my questions, and help was given with a genuine attitude. Within weeks of joining the firm, I saw my writing quality and research skills sharply improve.
Outside of the work, everyone at Wilson Harle is extremely nice, social, and supportive. I always felt a strong sense of collegiality and teamwork. The juniors all get along great and everyone makes an effort to attend and enjoy social events.
I had a very fun summer, met great people, and learned a lot about litigation. Interning at Wilson Harle has made me very excited to begin my career in litigation.”
Lucy Beban – 2024 – 2025
“My summer at Wilson Harle was a highlight of my time at law school. The smaller, close-knit nature of the firm made it easy to feel welcomed and get to know the whole team. This smaller size also meant that I was working on interesting and varied work from day one. Almost immediately I had the opportunity to contribute to a range of matters and even have some (small) arguments make it to court. I was encouraged to challenge myself in building my skills and to attempt tasks, including drafting arguments, and it was incredibly gratifying to see my work presented to clients and in court.
Wilson Harle has built anamazing community and was incredibly supportive of me and my work. Everyone showed a genuine interest in making sure I got the most out of my summer and also enjoy it. I cannot recommend Wilson Harle enough!”
Rana Cawley- 2024 – 2025
“I arrived at Wilson Harle with no idea what working at a small litigation firm would be like. What could have been a daunting prospect was made incredibly pleasant by the interesting and diverse work, the lovely people, and an overall engaging workplace.
What makes Wilson Harle stand out is the collaborative environment. The way files are assigned means one person could work with anyone in the firm – there are no defined teams. Especially as a summer clerk, you will work on so many files and pick up skills from virtually every person in the office. This way of working also gave me the opportunity to really get to know colleagues, juniors and seniors alike. As someone who values constructive mentorship and positive role modelling, I found the small firm structure to be exceptionally supportive and refreshing.
During my summer, I don’t think I ever did the same task twice. I was doing real work for real files straight away, and with each task I was learning something new. It was a steep learning curve, but I came away with a big jump in my legal research skills and litigation knowledge.”
Felicity Lewis 2023 -2024 summer clerk,
“I had an excellent experience summer clerking at Wilson Harle. Everybody was warm and welcoming, and as a smaller firm, I got to know everyone over the summer. Junior solicitors all the way up to the partners were generous with their time, encouraging questions and curiosity.
From the first week, I felt integrated into both the social fabric of the firm and my work responsibilities. Wilson Harle was intentional about giving a broad range of tasks, with a good balance of support and freedom to find the answer on my own. The work itself was stimulating and I learnt a great deal every day. I particularly enjoyed seeing the tangible results of some work I contributed to, by attending a High Cour thearing.
The experience far exceeded my expectations and left me excited about my future in the legal profession”